Shadow Walker
by Fleetingdejavu
Summary: Dvona Black is the only survivor of a brutal Death Eater attack and finds herself crossing time and space to seek her revenge. But in order to do so she must confront her past and a power hidden deep within her that could destroy everything around her...
1. Chapter 1

To anybody who was to glance at the young woman sleeping in one of the immensely uncomfortable plastic chairs bolted to the floor of the train station it would look as if she was simply having a difficult time getting comfortable in the restricting position. The pinched features of her face and the sudden shifting suggested just that. In her gloved hands she clutched a single train ticket to Chicago, with a departure time for several hours past. Her tattered bag sat on the seat next to her resting against her foot, easy pickings for a thief to simply walk by and pick it up. She hadn't meant to fall asleep, she never did. Sleeping had become dangerous for her these days. When she slept something inside of her would relax, and the powers she worked so hard to keep under control while awake surged to the surface, and became far too easy for her subconscious to access. That, on its own, wouldn't be a problem. But when the dreams she had been having were thrown into the equation, things became much more complicated. Things happened while she was sleeping, things she had no control over. So she had taken to simply staying awake, and when she did sleep it would be for no more than an hour at a time, never giving herself enough time to enter that dangerous world of dreams. Today, however, sitting and waiting in the hot train station, she had closed her eyes simply to rest them for a few minutes. After all, they would be calling her train in just ten minutes and she'd be sure to wake up then. She'd underestimated how exhausted she was, though, and she'd been deeply asleep nearly instantly. And for the first time in weeks, the dreams had taken her.

Deep within her mind a battle raged, the night sky was filled with brilliant flashes of magic as her fury and pain took complete control of her, and the ground turned red with blood. Within the train station the young woman squeezed her eyes shut even more tightly, her hands clenching into fists, and then she was gone. Vanished instantly from sight without a single sound to betray her passage. Thankfully, nobody noticed the unnatural action. They all simply continued on absorbed in their own thoughts. Dvona, however, snapped to consciousness just in time to land on her feet, her bag tumbling to the grass a few feet from her. For a moment she thought she was still dreaming, but when she reopened her eyes and the same sight lay before her, she knew she was doing no such thing. The building that had once been so familiar to her lay in ruin, the beautiful green fields that had surrounded it were still charred and barren. The bodies, and the blood, however, were gone. Likely cleaned up by the Ministry of Magic weeks ago as the sun rose over a night she would give anything to forget. Even as she stood there the memories were reclaiming her. The horror, the screams, the pain. She had run, as fast as she could that night. She had run for hours, she hadn't stopped running until her body gave out, and then she hid, and slept. And remembered. She would never forget.

"Dvona." Instantly she stiffened upon hearing her name spoken just a few feet behind her. On guard and tense, she slowly turned back around to face the man who had broken the silence. "We've been looking for you ever since the massa-" he faltered then, upon seeing the horror in her eyes. "Since that night. We need to talk to you, as I am sure you know." He watched as her shoulders slumped, and she stooped to grab her bag.

"Yes, I know."

"Come, we'll go back to the ministry now." Dvona put up no resistance as he gripped her shoulder and apparated to the American Ministry of Magic… to run at this point would have just gotten her in more trouble. It was bad enough already, being the only one to have survived that night, and disappearing before the Ministry had arrived. Yes, she was in enough trouble as it was.

They walked in silence down hall after hall, and Dvona quickly stopped paying attention to where they were going, and just followed the man in front of her mindlessly. As they walked she was furiously building and strengthening the walls within her mind, blocking out everything from that night that she didn't want to reveal to anyone. If they knew, if anybody knew about the power she possessed, what she had done… no. Best not to think about that. They couldn't find out. That was all there was to it. Dipping into the pool of power that hovered just beneath the surface of her mind she wove it into the walls she was building for added protection. They couldn't know. They couldn't.

"Wait here." the sudden noise surprised her, and when she looked up she realized that she was standing before the Minister of Magic's own office. The man who had lead her that far entered without knocking, and within a few minutes she heard the popping sound as several people apparated into the room. Muffled conversation, and the man returned to bring her in. He steered her to a chair in the center of the room, and she tried not to meet the eyes of any of the people in the room. Nobody was introduced to her, rather, the man who had been in charge of her thus far handed her a small vial of clear liquid, and she poured as much strength into her inner walls as she could, hoping it would be enough, before she poured the veritiserum down her throat.

"Good. Shall we begin?" the many people in the room nodded at the Minister before he came to stand in front of the young woman. "What is your name?"

"Dvona Jocelyn Black." her mind felt horribly blank, and she began to worry that what she had done hadn't been enough, that they would discover her secret.

"How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"What school did you attend?"

"Erisons School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"How did you survive the attack on the school?"

"I wasn't there."

"Where were you?"

"At the bar in town." around the room eyes narrowed. It was well known that students often snuck out of Erisons and spent their nights in the town just a mile away. But it was, of course, against the rules.

"When you returned to school, what did you find." At the question her head exploded in pain, though she didn't allow herself to show any outward signs of it. The truth serum was trying to destroy the wall she had put up, trying to get to the truth, but for the time being the wall was holding.

"The dark mark. When I reached the top of the hill the only thing I saw was the dark mark in the sky. That is all I remember." with the potion unable to find the truth within her mind, she found it shockingly easy to supply a different answer.

"What do you mean that is all you remember?" The Minister sounded shocked, as if such a thing wasn't possible.

"I saw the dark mark, and the next thing I knew it was sunset and I was laying on the bank of a stream in the forest. The were cuts all over my hands and face, as if I had run haphazardly through the trees. Also, I was incredibly exhausted and my ankle hurt horribly."

"What did you do then?"

"I slept." that, at least, was the truth, and the horrid pain began to abate. "The next morning I started walking, until I found a road. Then I hitchhiked. That's more or less what I've been doing ever since. Trying to get as far away as I could." His eyes narrowed then, and silently she cursed herself for being backed into the corner as she just had. Before he even opened his mouth she knew what his next question was going to be.

"If you were trying to get as far away as you could, why then did you return to the school grounds tonight?" There it was again. The pain. This time it was much stronger, however. Having already weakened her defenses it seemed to be attacking them twice as intensely, determined to break them.

"I had a dream," The pain abated then, for Dvona was only telling a half lie. "that one of my close friends was alive, waiting at the school. When I woke up I- I just had to check." the people in the room were exchanging worried and sympathetic glances at that point, and the Minister murmured the counter spell for the potion and she blinked rapidly with relief.

"We thought you might return there at some point. There have been aurors posted on the grounds ever since that night, keeping watch for you. We had to bring you in for questioning, you see. Have you had any news since that night?" His face was etched with concern, and slowly she shook her head.

"Everyone who was at the school was killed. And by the time we got there…" his voice faltered, and she could see the ghosts of what he had seen in his eyes.

"All of the death eaters were dead. They had been violently killed, tortured even. Everywhere we turned there was blood." she could hear people shifting around the room, but she kept her eyes on the man who was talking, the one who had found her. "We still have no idea what happened. There was a residue of powerful magic everywhere, and the building was destroyed. There are some who think that the school itself had some sort of ancient power built into it, a defense mechanism, that rebounded on the death eaters. But, that explanation is a stretch."

"A stretch it might be but it is still the best option we have." a woman with a shrill voice cut in, glaring at the man who had been speaking.

"It doesn't matter." yet another woman cut in. "The child has been on the run for a month, she must be exhausted. Listening to you lot argue about what happened yet again is pointless. Clearly she can offer no more insight that any of us can. The trauma has kept her from remembering anything of that night, a blessing for her. Nobody deserves to see something like that, especially not a child. Let her rest." Dvona silently rankled at being called a child, but forced herself to stay still. If the woman could so easily accept that the trauma had wiped her mind of the night, then perhaps the others had been convinced as well. And if thinking of her as a child helped them to see her as nothing but a victim, then all the better.

"You're right of course." the minister nodded toward the woman who had just spoken, and he stood and turned toward the man who had brought her there. "Blake, would you take Dvona to the hotel down the street? A good night's sleep and a couple of meals are in order for her." the man, who she now knew to be named Blake, nodded and the minister turned back to her. "Tomorrow afternoon, after you have had a chance to rest, come back here and we'll talk about where you can go. There have been a lot of developments since that night, that clearly you haven't heard about. One in particular that will have quite a large impact on your life. But for now, get some rest. You're safe." she knew he meant it as a way to calm her down, but in her mind she laughed. She had never been in danger. In fact, if anything, she was in danger now. In danger of loosing the freedom she had only just recently found. Yes, she was of age, but she knew that wouldn't stop him from trying to interfere with her life. Some things never changed.

Pushing herself to her feet she caught the strap of her bag and slung it over she shoulder, silently following Blake out into the hall.

"It wasn't too bad, was it?" looking up at him she saw him smirking a bit, and she smiled back.

"No, it wasn't that bad. I guess I was running for nothing." it was a far cry from the truth, but he nodded in agreement, and held out his hand for her to take before apparating once again.

The hotel was modest, only ten rooms, all small but comfortably furnished. He led her to the first one on the right, and handed her a key he produced from his pocket. At her puzzled look he explained that it was a hotel just for ministry officials and their guests, not the public. He handed her the key then and told her he would stop by the next afternoon to take her back to the minister, and to sleep well. She almost laughed at that. Sleep… she hadn't had a full night of sleep since that night. She sometimes wondered if she ever would again.

A/N: Just something I've been thinking of for quite a while now. Should I continue or just forget about it? Review and let me know.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a long night for Dvona. She had only achieved a couple hours of sleep when the dreams started to claim her and she flung herself out of bed, choking back a scream. The next several hours she spent sitting on the bed, her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them, fighting off the memories. Seeing the school again, in shambles, had brought them back stronger than ever. All of the work she had done in forgetting that night was gone. Every once in a while she would shudder, and it wasn't until the sun rose and a dim light settled over the room that she unfolded herself. Making her way into the bathroom she ran the hot water, letting the large tub fill nearly to the brim before turning it off. The steam from the water had warmed the room quite a bit, yet even so she was reluctant to take off the sweatshirt she was wearing. It was dark blue, and white lettering spelled out Erisons across the front. It was all she had left of her school, and of her friends.

Folding it carefully she quickly stripped the rest of her clothing off and sank gratefully into the water. It had been far too long since she had last been able to take a bath. Reaching behind her she began unbraiding her long hair, gently massaging the scalp as she finished. The tight braid had hurt, but it had kept her from having to do anything with it for several days.

Taking a deep breath she sank beneath the water, looking up at the now distorted ceiling. The tiles that had just a moment before fit together perfectly now overlapped and fell away from their rightful places. The lines that had been so carefully designed to be perfectly straight were crooked, no two lines meeting up as they were supposed to. She smiled then, but it didn't reach her eyes. What a difference a little bit of water made. If that was the case, then ever since that night she had been drowning.

She stayed underwater until her lungs screamed for air and her vision began to go black, forcing herself to ignore her instincts. It wasn't easy, it never was, but when she managed to stay under for as long as she did she took a small amount of pride in the fact. Most people wouldn't have been able to do that. Nor would they have wanted to, the darker side of her mind argued, but she ignored it and began to wash her hair.

Half an hour later, after she was thoroughly clean and the water had cooled considerably, she carefully pushed herself up and out of the water, wrapping a fluffy towel around herself as the water drained from the tub. The mirror was still completely covered in steam, but she stood in front of it anyways as she methodically worked the complimentary brush through her dark hair. Her hair was the only thing that she had gotten from her father, or so her mother had told her. The thick, wavy black locks that her mother had so often combed for her as a child, not because Dvona had asked her to, and not out of love for her daughter, but because they reminded her of Sirius, the love of her life. The man who had forced her to go back to her family in America not long after graduation, for fear of Voldemort. She had done as he asked, for he had promised to join her as soon as he could. It wasn't until she was home that she realized she was pregnant, and at that point it was too dangerous to send letters, so Sirius had never been told that he was to be a father. Then, on Dvona's second birthday, her mother had gotten the news. Sirius had killed Peter, Sirius would be sent to Azkaban for life, Sirius would never return to her. The news had devastated Dvona's mother, and for months she had done nothing but lay in bed, unable to even get up in the morning. Dvona's grandmother had moved in with them then, and had taken care of the pair of them. It was supposed to be just a short-time arrangement, but Cathleen, Dvona's mother, had quickly become dependent on her mother to look after her daughter. In fact, the only thing Cathleen did for years to care for her child was to brush her hair nightly, tears running down her face as she remembered her lost love.

Dvona had thought her mom cried because there was something she was doing wrong, and for as long as she could remember she had done everything in her power to please her mother, but nothing was ever good enough. After loosing Sirius, she had never been quite the same, for she had lost a piece of herself.

The news of his escape had never reached them, for Dvona had been in school and Cathleen had been on some tropical island for much of that year. A vacation from life, she had called it, and claimed that she would come back and she would have moved past Sirius. So Dvona's grandmother had financed it, at a loss as to what else to do to help her only daughter. The news of his death two years later, however, that news they received. Dvona could still remember the horror in her mother's crystal blue eyes as she looked at her daughter for the last time before collapsing on the floor silently. Catatonic shock, the doctors had told Dvona and her grandmother. Cathleen's already weak psyche simply couldn't handle the news of Sirius's death, and she had shut down. She had been admitted to a hospital, and Dvona had visited her every Saturday during the school years, and every day during the summer, always the dutiful daughter. The summer she was seventeen her grandmother had died, and she had cried for days. Part of her then began to understand why her mother had done what she had done. Surly, laying day after day staring at nothing, never speaking, hardly moving, was better than this pain.

Even now, the look in Cathleen's eyes when she had been told the news haunted Dvona. And yet, she knew, when she had topped that hill, seen the destruction of her school, her friends and teachers lying dead on the ground, she knew her own eyes had mirrored her mothers. They may have been several shades darker, but they were still blue. And every now and then when she was thinking about that night, and she happened to pass by a mirror or window, she saw her mother reflected back at her.

Looking up at the mirror that was mostly visible now, she saw it again. How much she looked like her mother. The same high cheekbones, the same pale skin, the same long fingers, the same elegant neck. Yet instead of the blond hair her mother had been gifted, Dvona had received her father's hair. After her mother had been committed there had been more than one time she had found herself with a pair of scissors, about to cut her heavy hair away from herself. And yet, she had never gone through with the act, because as much as she hated the connection to the man that had destroyed her mother, it was still the only thing she had of his.

Setting the brush down on the counter she shook herself of the old memories and stooped to grab her clothes from the ground before re-entering the rest of the hotel room. To her surprise there was a note on the mirror, that said simply to check the dresser. As she read it the note faded and she was left looking at her own face again. Doing as it had said, she was shocked to see each drawer filled with clothes that were just her size. No doubt the dresser would provide clothes for whoever slept there, and she pulled a pair of jeans and a red tank top out with relief. Her own clothes were in horrid shape, she had bought them from a garage sale, desperate for something that didn't have blood stains here and there. Neither the shirt nor the pants fit her very well, and the sweatshirt was so precious to her that she hated to wear it when she could avoid doing so.

Once she was dressed another note appeared upon the mirror, instructing her to take a seat at the table near the window. She did so, and the table promptly filled with various breakfast foods. Taking just a slice of toast and a cup of coffee she went out on the balcony, but first selected a book at random off of the bookshelf that was behind the table. Settling herself on the railing with her back against the building, she sipped her coffee and opened the book. Surprisingly, it wasn't a magical book at all, but rather a muggle classic, and one of her favorite books. Wuthering Heights, all about unrequited love and the havoc it wrecks upon the lives of everyone involved. A slight smile on her face she instantly fell into the world of Catherine and Heathcliff, the love, the pain, the revenge, and the hope.

Several hours later found Blake knocking on her door, and upon receiving no answer after several minutes he tried the knob, surprised to find it unlocked. He entered slowly, aware that she could very well be changing or something. She wasn't, however, anywhere in the room. Her beat up duffle bag still sat on the end of the bed, her clothes were in a pile, and one of the drawers of the dresser was still partly open. Glancing around again he caught sight of her through the sliding door, sitting on the railing of the second story balcony, perfectly relaxed, reading a book with a serene smile on her face. The girl he saw now was vastly different than the girl he had found last night. Last night she had been terrified, and on the verge of tears. She had looked broken, as if the weight of the world would never stop bearing down on her. But this girl, no, woman, was beautiful. Perfectly at peace with the world, the sun making her black hair shine and her eyes very nearly glow. Her smile revealed dimples that he never would have guessed existed on the girl he had found last night. Glancing at the title of the book he saw it was called Wuthering Heights, and though he had never heard of it he resolved to read it. If it could put Dvona in such a good mood after everything she had gone through, then it must be a truly exceptional book.

He didn't want to disturb her, but there was no way to avoid it. The Minister had called for her, and Blake was sent to fetch her. Walking slowly so as not to startle her, he slid the door open and stepped out onto the balcony.

"Good afternoon Dvona. I'm sorry, but you didn't answer the door, and the minister…"

"It's fine." she cut in, flashing him a smile that made his heart skip a beat. "I always get lost in this book. Shall we go?" she didn't wait for an answer, rather, she slid past him, placing the book lovingly on the shelf before putting her few possessions back into her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. Following her out into the hall, Blake caught her hand and hesitated a moment before aparating, if only to prolong the contact.

The appeared right in front of the Minister's open door, and unlike last night there were no other witches or wizards in the room this time. Blake nodded toward the door when Dvona looked at him questioningly, and she walked slowly in. He followed her, shutting the door behind him.

"Ah Ms. Black, there you are. Right on time. Please, take a seat. Now, this morning I realized that I never introduced myself. I'm Allen Muchins, Minister of Magic, though of course you already knew that part. And that there is Blake Sill, our newest auror here at the ministery. And he's already proving to be extremely valuable, let me tell you." glancing back at Blake, who was standing near the door, Dvona saw him blushing slightly at the praise.

"Now, for the reason I asked you to come, as I said there have been quite a few developments in the wizarding world since that night, all of which you need to know before you make your decision."

"Decision Sir?"

"Well, yes. Whether to retake your final year of schooling, or to simply take the exams. As I am sure you have realized, the attack happened a month before exams at Erisons. You are of age, yes, but you haven't graduated. Normally, we would require a student to attend a different school for a year, but you've always had top marks, so we are leaving the choice up to you." Dvona looked at the Minister in total shock. That was why he had called her here, to discuss how she would graduate? After everything that had happened, he actually though she cared about such a tiny, unimportant thing? The very thought of wasting so much time made her sick. Even if she didn't have to go to school for a year, she most certainly would have to spend several months studying on her own in order to be able to pass the tests, and for what? A diploma so that she could go on to get a job that she didn't want? Were they not at war? Didn't that matter at all to the man sitting across from her? No, it didn't matter what he said, she would not be wasting her time to get a diploma. All that mattered, now that she wasn't running from the very man who sat before her, was revenge. Retribution, for all of the lives that had been lost that night. Oh yes, all of the Death Eaters who had attacked had been killed, but the man who had ordered the attack was still terrorizing the wizarding world. That was what mattered. That was all that mattered.

"You said there were circumstances that would effect my decision." best not to reveal her plans to him. Rather, she was going to get as much information from his as possible before she made any kind of a decision.

"Yes, I did." now, a broad smile was making its way onto his face, though she didn't understand why. "Dvona, do you know how it was your father died?" surprised at the sudden change of subject, she shook her head slowly. She had never heard the details, only that he had died. "Well, I won't tell you the whole story, but basically he fell through a veil in the British Ministry of Magic. Now, up until recently, it was thought that anything that passed through the veil would be lost forever. This, however, isn't the case." Dvona was frowning in confusion. What did her father's death, or the way he died, have to do with anything? The minister was making no sense. "Dvona, don't you understand? Your father has come back. He's alive."

A/N: Yes, I know, terrible of me to leave it at that. Please, tell me what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

Dvona had always been quick. Quick witted, quick to learn, and most importantly, quick to figure things out. And for the first time in her life, she was shocked to the point of speechlessness. She tried to make her throat work, to produce sound, but nothing came out. Various things were racing through her mind, but nothing lingered long enough for her to even start to grasp it, let along voice it. The minister, however, was unaware of her current state of shock and continued on cheerfully.

"Yes, it was quite miraculous, actually. His godson Harry Potter had a dream that Mr. Black was still alive in there, just sort of, suspended I supposed the best word would be. And he came up with this plan and he and two other children his age snuck into the ministry and managed to rescue him. He's been acquitted of all charges against him, but I'll not get into that story right now, its quite long and involved. Anyway, he has had his inheritance restored to him and is now living on the Black estates with his godson and several of his godson's friends. This is where we get into your various options. You may choose to remain here, study, and take the tests for graduation, or you can go to England and spend the summer holidays with your father before attending Hogwarts School For Witchcraft And Wizardry in the fall along with your god brother." he stopped then, looking at her expectantly.

"My father is alive?" was all she could manage, and the minister frowned as Blake stepped up and sat in the chair next to Dvona.

"Sir, this all must have come as a huge shock to her. Perhaps we ought to give her some time to think things through before we make her decide?" as the two of them began to argue about it, Dvona's mind finally caught up, and immediately started planning. England was very very far away from America, and while it was easy enough to aparate across such a distance, the way she traveled while she slept was very different from aparation. And, while she didn't know for sure, she was fairly sure she wouldn't be able to get back to the shattered remains of her school unintentionally from such a great distance. She would finally be able to sleep more than an hour at a time. Plus, she would be away from the American ministry, hopefully discouraging them from asking her any more questions. And then, of course, there was her father. Her mother had never been the parent she ought to have been. Would her father be any better? Didn't she deserve a chance to get to know him? And what had the minister said, Harry Potter was her god brother, and currently living with Sirius? Voldemort was practically guaranteed to show up around that boy. It would save her an immense amount of time as far as tracking the man down went.

"I'll go." the two men had been arguing the whole time she was thinking, and now they both snapped their eyes toward her in surprise.

"Are you sure? You don't know anybody over there…" Blake asked, his eyes saying he clearly wanted her to stay.

"There's nothing left for me here. Yes, I'm sure. I'll go." Blake tried unsuccessfully to hide how much her comment hurt him.

"Excellent. Perfect. So, I'll arrange to have a portkey made for you, and for your father to be informed. In fact, you can easily be there by dinner tonight, all I need is to floo over there…"

"No. I have some things I need to attend to here first. I'll go tomorrow morning." the minister frowned at her again, but nodded slowly.

"Yes, I suppose that would be better. Very well. Blake here will escort you wherever it is you need to go today." at that Blake half smiled at her, and Dvona grumbled inwardly. So the minister still didn't trust her to wander around on her own? All the better that she was going to England, then. She got up to leave, when the minister began to speak again, his voice much softer than it had been before.

"From what I understand, Ms. Black, keeping your mother hospitalized has left you with very little money, as the inheritance from your grandmother has largely run out. Also, seeing as all of your possessions were destroyed at the school, a rather large sum of money has been transferred to a bank account in your name. Actually, it is quite large. Whenever there is something as disastrous as what happened at your school, the ministry doles out a large sum of money to be divided between the survivors. However, in this case, you are the only one to have survived. Last night, after you left we voted, and it was decided that the money would remain in your hands. Suffice it to say, you will not have to worry about money again for a very long time." Dvona looked at the minister in shock. They were trying to buy her off. They were buying her silence. He hadn't said so in so many words of course, to do so would have been grounds for a removal from office. But she knew that was what he meant, and he knew that she knew.

Her pride told her to refuse the money, her morals told her to refuse the money, but her mind showed her a picture of her mother lying alone in a hospital, and she knew she would take it. What choice did she have? Everything the minister had said was true, the inheritance she had received from her grandmother had run out a couple of months ago, and she knew she owed the hospital a rather large sum of money for the months she had missed payment. And so, when he held out a silver key and a slip of paper with the account number on in, she took it with a murmured thank you, before quickly leaving the room. Blake followed her, and as the door swung shut behind him she shoved the items in her pocket.

"Well, where would you like to go first?" he was smiling excitedly at her, and Dvona couldn't help but smile back. His obvious enthusiasm at spending the day with her was touching.

"The bank I suppose. Then the hospital. After that, I don't really care." he nodded and led her through the maze of hallways yet again, ending at a room full of fireplaces and people coming and going. He led them to a fireplace, grabbed a handful of floo powder and called out Gringotts, branch 184, and disappeared in a rush of flames. Following his lead Dvona did the same, and reappeared in the lobby of a very familiar bank.

"I'll just wait here for you while you go and get what you need, ok?" Dvona smiled gratefully at the auror and nodded. Even though he probably already knew how much money was in that vault, she didn't him to see how much she was about to take out.

Making her way over to one of the lines, she waited as the people in front of her were led back behind the counter where they were put in a cart and taken to their vaults.

"Name." the goblin before her looked up at her impatiently, and she quickly pulled her thoughts back to the matter at hand.

"Dvona Black." at her last name he snapped his eyes up to survey her, before writing it down on a piece of paper. It was a reaction she was used to at this point. Even in America, Sirius Black's supposed crimes were well known. As a child the odd stares had always bothered her, convincing her more and more that she had done something terribly wrong. After all, why else would people glare at a child when they found out her name? Her mother had never known how to put those fears to rest within her daughter, she was too busy missing the very man that was making Dvona miserable.

"Key and account number?" sliding the silver metal and piece of paper onto the counter they quickly disappeared into the goblin's hand and he motioned for her to get into a cart. Handing the papers and the key to the goblin driving the cart he immediately returned to his counter, and the cart lurched to motion and sped down into the vault. It didn't go very far at all, however, when it came to a sudden stop, forcing Dvona to grab onto the side tightly to keep from being thrown out.

"We're there already?" never in her life had she been so thoroughly glared at by a goblin before.

"Of course we are. Ministry accounts are kept close to the top because they are used so often." he sneered at her, and she wondered how on earth she would have been expected to know that. Climbing carefully out of the cart she pushed the key into the lock, and listened as gears twisted into place on the other side of the door. Opening it just enough to slide in she waited for her eyes to adjust to the lower level of light. When they did, she groaned at what she saw. Mountains of money. Oh yes, the ministry certainly did want her to be quiet about the fact that the death eaters had threatened for weeks to attack the school, and the ministry had decided they were just bluffing. The result, of course, had been the death of over one hundred students and faculty members. Not to mention a blood bath for the death eaters and the building itself having been destroyed.

With a sigh she grabbed two bags, one of which she filled with all denominations of money, and the other she filled much fuller purely with galleons. It was full enough that it ought to pay off her debt at the hospital, as well as cover several more months of treatment. Turning to leave she paused for a moment, and then slid a few more coins into each of her pockets before leaving the vault and locking the door behind her again.

The goblin was waiting for her in the cart impatiently, and she quickly pulled the key from the lock and climbed back in the cart. In no time they were back above ground and the cart was stopped again. Jumping out quickly in order to avoid another glare or sigh directed her way she made her way across the lobby to where Blake was talking to a young blond woman. As Dvona made her way up to the pair the woman turned and glared at her, and Dvona sighed to herself. What was with everybody today?

"Dvona! There you are, I was starting to get worried!" frowning at Blake she saw the desperate look in his eyes and immediately fell into step.

"Sorry babe, the lines were longer then I thought they were going to be." upon reaching him she slid one arm through his and stood on her tip toes to give him a little kiss. "And now we're running late for lunch with the wedding planner." turning back to the blond she frowned before continuing in a very forced cheerful voice, "Sorry, who are you?" the woman didn't bother replying, simply stalked off. As she left she felt Blake heave a sigh of relief.

"Thanks. Now maybe she'll leave me alone when I come in here."

"That bad huh?"

"You have no idea." they both laughed at that and he led her outside into a large outdoor plaza, the edges of which were lined with stores with both muggle and magical things for sale.

"While we're here we might as well get my shopping done, then head to the hospital, if that works?" she asked, and he nodded in agreement. Heading for the nearest clothing store, she hoped she would have a good time this afternoon. The trip to the hospital would be tense to be sure, and she definitely wasn't looking forward to it.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize, but I do own Dvona and anybody else you don't recognize.

A/N: Thanks so much to those of you who have reviewed, I appreciate it so much!!

Several hours later found them both heavily weighted down with various shopping bags of all shapes and sizes filled with everything from shoes to clothing to potions ingredients to books to a set of luggage. Everything that she had lost in the tragedy had been replaced. Well, most everything. Everything unimportant. Replaceable. Material. Some things were never going to be replaced. Completely oblivious to my sudden shift in mood Blake suggested getting ice-cream at the sweet shop, but Dvona only shook her head and hurried toward the street she knew led to the hotel. Slightly baffled the sandy haired man followed behind her wondering where they vivacious girl he had spend the afternoon with had gone. She was walking ahead of him with a decisive purpose, however, and he figured it would be better to let her be about it.

The hotel was further away than Dvona had thought it was going to be, and by the time it was finally in view her fingers were screaming in displeasure from the thin straps of the bags cutting into them. She was determined, however, to get into her room before she put the damn things down. Trying to shift them a bit so that the pressure wasn't so painful all she achieved was to make herself stumble to the side. A soft chuckle came from behind her and she looked back to see that Blake had shifted all of the bags he was carrying into one hand. The other was held open towards her expectantly.

"Let me take some of them would you?"

"Nope, I'm fine. We're almost there anyhow." Pushing the outer door of the hotel open with her shoulder she felt Blake trying to take some of them from her hand and she shrugged him away slightly annoyed. "It's fine, I've got them. If you really want to help then fish the key out of my pocket for me so we can get into the room." At that he turned a wonderful shade of red, and Dvona found herself holding back a smile. "It's in my left front pocket, and hurry up about it would you? These bags are going to pull my arms right off."

"Well if you had let me take some of them-"

"Key! Now!" Turning an even deeper shade of red than he had been before Blake did as she ordered, and hesitantly pulled the edge of the pocket away from her hip and peered in. "Oh come on. Hurry up already." At this point Dvona was trying quite desperately not to burst out laughing. She nearly felt sorry for the awkward position he was in, but mostly it was just amusing. As carefully as he could he dipped two fingers into her pocket until they encountered the smooth metal of the key. Upon finding it he pulled it out as quickly as he could and unlocked the door with unsteady hands. The second it was open she pushed past him, rushing to the bed and letting her many purchases drop down upon it. Blake followed suite, but set the bags down much more gently. As Dvona shook out her hands trying to get blood to reach her fingertips again he stood awkwardly, the key still in one hand.

"Can we aparate to the hospital? I'm exhausted and just want to get this visit over with." Really, she didn't want him to go with her at all, but she knew well enough that he hadn't been sent along with her for the day to simply keep her company. The ministry didn't want her on her own until she was out of their country, and thus no longer their problem.

"Of course. We'll have to go outside though, the hotel has anti-aparation wards all over it." Dvona followed Blake out of the building rather dejectedly. She knew she would have to bring him into the room with her and her mother. The doctors frowned upon visitors loitering in the halls, as it tended to upset some of the patients. The thought of somebody else seeing her mom like she was made her vaguely nauseous. She had never brought anybody with her when she came to visit, not even Leon or Zoe, her closest friends at Erisons. And now she had to bring a complete stranger with her? 'At least you'll never have to see him again after today.' She thought to herself, and felt herself relax a bit.

Feeling a hand seeking her she was pulled from her thoughts, and the next thing she knew they were standing just outside the hospital. To look at it, one would not first off know what it was. It looked like nothing more than an old Victorian house set on the top of a hill with beautiful grounds surrounding it. As a scream was heard from inside, it became clear just how far that picture was from the truth.

With a sigh Dvona threw back her shoulders and walked up to the guard stationed at the front door. He immediately recognized her and gave her a brief smile, welcoming her back before swirling his wand in a complex pattern and opening the door for them. As they stepped inside they entered a room with another guard and a long table, on which a few wands already lay. Used to the procedure Dvona pulled her wand out and laid it down on the table as well.

"Any magical objects you have with you have to stay here. Some of the patients would be too dangerous if they were able to get their hands on any." And so Blake followed suite, laying his wand as well as his ministry id badge on the table. They were then let though the next door, and into the building. Right ahead was an office, and Dvona quickly made her way there, waiting for the red haired woman to look up.

"Hi Stella." The woman did look up then, and her eyes widened to the size of saucers before she jumped up and wrapped Dvona in a suffocating hug.

"Dev! Oh child I am so glad to see you! When I heard about all that nasty business at your school I thought the worst, you know I did." Her thick southern accent sounded teary, and Dvona was touched by the woman's concern. "Then the papers were saying that one student survived but they wouldn't tell who, said she was wanted for questioning and they couldn't release her name till things were sorted out… I always thought it was you! I did I swear it! If anybody was going to come out of something like that it was going to be you!" To her horror Dvona felt her own eyes tearing up at the kindness being shown to her, and she quickly pulled away before they began to fall.

"Well, I'm back now Stella, but not for very long."

"What on earth are you talking about child?"

"I'm moving to England. To live with some extended family." She heard Blake shift around behind her, but he didn't say anything to correct her, for which she was thankful. She didn't want anybody at the hospital knowing about her father, as the news would surly get back to her mother. All of the nurses knew why she was in here, and they all thought it terribly romantic. That a woman could love a man so much she would just shut down upon hearing of his death. Of course, they hadn't been the ones who had been forced to live with a mother who, when looking at her daughter saw only the man who had fathered her. They hadn't seen their mother reach the breaking point and shut herself off from the world, from her daughter. The last thing Dvona wanted was for any word of Sirius Black to reach her mother. Whether or not she could even hear people around her in her condition was unknown, but on the off chance, Dvona didn't want it to get any worse. And surly that was all news of her father would do. Make her mother worse off somehow. That's how it always was.

"But you'll still come visit her, right? I mean, up till now you never missed a single visit." It was true, and the guilt she felt for leaving hit her like a ton of bricks.

"I'll try." It was a lie. A bold, outright lie. She wouldn't be coming back, not until she had achieved her revenge. If she survived that, then she would come back. But she had to treat this visit as goodbye. Even though she had discovered an immense power inside of her, she still didn't know how she had accessed it the night of the massacre. For all she knew, she would never be able to reach it again. And if that were the case, then she was most likely going to die attempting to do this. But that was something she had come to terms with the very night she had become a killer. Life ends for everybody at some point. It's just a matter of how you go.

"Here." She hefted the bag full of gallions onto the desk and Stella made her way back around it. "This should cover the late payments and quite a few more months." The older woman peered into the bag, and then looked up at Dvona with her eyes full of questions. Before she could ask them, however, Dvona had begun talking again.

"We're going to go visit her now, when we are done I will stop by here again and find out when I need to send more money, does that work?" At Stella's nod Dvona quickly began to walk towards the back of the house, felling Blake at her back. Blocking the other patients from her sight Dvona walked quickly to the stairs in the back of the building, up them, down the hall, and to the third door on the right. Knocking gently she pushed it open, wishing more than anything else that she was alone right now.

"Hey mom, it's me." There was, of course, no response from the woman laying in the bed by the window. The room looked as if it could be a bedroom in any house. A comfortable bed, a flowery quilt, an old wooden dresser, pictures of Cathleen and a much younger Dvona on the walls. Only the woman lying on the bed staring at nothing gave anything away. Dvona moved to sit on the edge of the bed and caught her mother's hand in her own as Blake wandered around the room, studying the pictures.

"I'm sorry I haven't been here in a while, trust me, I would have been if it were possible. You see, something really awful happened at my school. It was attacked, and I'm the only one that survived. And it was only because Leon had said something stupid again and just to prove him wrong I went into town alone. When I came back… everything was gone. And so I couldn't come back until now." The blond woman's hand rested meekly in Dvona's, and her eyes continued to stare at the ceiling. The familiar disappointment ripped through Dvona, and she struggled to keep her tears at bay. Part of her had hoped her mother would be able to comfort her. After everything, maybe this would have brought her back. Of course, it hadn't.

"I won't be able to come back for a while mom. I have to repeat my last year of schooling over in England, so it may be a while before you see me again." Still, no response. With a sigh of resignation Dvona bent over and placed a gentle kiss on her mother's forehead before standing up. Glancing around the room she noticed that newspaper clippings of the attack on Erisons had been taped to the wall, and Dvona felt a surge of anger. What if her mother could see the things around her? Pictures of a slaughter shouldn't be anywhere near her.

Fighting back tears once again at the images Dvona ripped them from the wall violently and shoved them haphazardly into her pocket. She didn't want anything that could upset her mother in the room. Outside the window the sun was setting, and for a moment Dvona stood looking out over the pink sky. Tomorrow she was going to meet the man who was the reason her mother was in the state she was. Tomorrow she was going half way across the world, and leaving her mother alone in this bed for God knows how long. She hated herself.

"It's getting late Dvona, we'd better get going." Speaking for the first time since they had reached the hospital Blake's voice broke through her thoughts, startling her.

"Yeah, you're right. Lets go." He left the room first, and as Dvona pulled the door shut behind her she looked back at her mother one last time, and felt a wave of sadness sweep over her. And to her shock, she felt the power inside of her stir a bit. As they made their way back toward the entrance she tried to clamp down on it, tried to catch the little wisp of magic and to her horror found that she couldn't. She couldn't control it. As she realized that she started to worry, and she felt the magic grow a little bit more. Desperate now to stop it, fearing what might happen, she forced all of her emotions aside, behind the wall she had built. And thankfully, the magic had settled back wherever it belonged.

Oblivious to her struggle, Blake had led them right up to the desk where Stella handed Dvona a receipt before jumping up and hugging the young woman again.

"I'm glad you've got somebody to stay with hun, I just wish it wasn't so far away. You come back and see us when you can, alright?" Nodding numbly Dvona returned the hug and followed Blake out into the entryway, where they collected their wands, and then back outside. They aparated back to the street where they had gone shopping earlier, and upon looking at him questioningly Blake said he was hungry, and would she like to get dinner.

Looking around her Dvona spotted a bar that was just starting to form a line to get in. She grabbed Blake's hand and pulled him toward it. All she wanted to do now was forget. Forget this crappy day, forget the attack, forget what was sleeping inside of her, forget everything. And as they entered the darkened building, she knew that for at least one night, she would be able to.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! You've no idea how excited I get when I see them sitting in my mailbox :) This chapter is a bit longer than the others have been, and it was really fun to write. I hope you all enjoy it!

Sunlight was streaming into the room, falling across Dvona's closed eyes and warming her face uncomfortably, causing her head to throb and her stomach to roll. With a groan she rolled away from it, attempting to fall back into the deep, dreamless sleep she had been able to achieve for the past several hours. Her avoidance turned out to be impossible, however, as she realized that an arm was clasped firmly around her waist, preventing her from moving. Freezing suddenly, she slowly opened her eyes and found herself face to face with a sleeping Blake, and the night came rushing back to her. The bar, the drinks, the dancing. She had convinced Blake to come back to the hotel with her to help her pack or some nonsense like that. She had just wanted to forget…

Careful not to disturb him Dvona managed to untangle herself from his sleeping form and climb out of bed. Grabbing the first article of clothing her fingers found she pulled on his shirt and took a few steps back to survey the room, one hand on her upset stomach. The room was a complete disaster. All of the bags which had been in the afternoon were now scattered around the room, their contents spilling out of them. She remembered doing that herself, shoving them all off of the bed as she pulled Blake down with her. The clothes the two of them had been wearing were flung about the room as well, and she wondered silently if they were going to be able to find everything. Her eyes made their way back to Blake, who seemed to be sleeping soundly. Stooping and grabbing some of the clothes they had bought the day before she made her way to the bathroom, and quietly locked the door behind her, frowning at the sink. That was her shoe. In the sink. Shaking her head she turned away from it, not bothering to try and figure out why it had ended up there. Rather, she turned on the shower and stepped under it, letting the hot water nearly scald her body.

Last night had been a bad idea. A very bad idea. It had mattered to Blake, and for her it had just been a way to get a few hours of deep sleep. 'Luckily I'm leaving today-' she immediately felt guilty for thinking it. It was a cowardly way to let things settle, she knew she should talk to Blake, but chances were she wasn't ever going to see him again. Right now she needed to focus on the fact that she was going to be going to England today. To meet her father. And live with him. And his godson, the boy who lived. And hadn't there been something about some of his friends living in the house too? God, what had she gotten herself into?

The shower had made her feel halfway human again, and when she emerged, fully dressed and shoe in hand, her pounding head had settled to a dull throb and her stomach had settled. A quick glance at the clock showed that it was nearly nine, and she knew the minister was probably waiting for them. She made her way over to Blake and gently shook him until he woke up. He looked confused for a moment, then a smile spread across his face.

"Morning." He pulled her down for a kiss and she met his lips as he wanted, but pulled away a moment later.

"It's almost nine. You shower and I'll pack my stuff." She pulled away from him and left him with a frown on his face as she knelt and began to gather and fold whatever clothing was within reach. She heard him shuffling around, and the hiss of the sheet dragging on the ground. Likely he had it wrapped around his waist while he searched for his own clothing. Once the door to the bathroom shut Dvona let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding before jumping into action. She was determined to have everything packed before he was out of the shower. Opening the new luggage she quickly began shrinking items and throwing them in haphazardly. As the bags emptied one by one she left them in a pile in the corner, until the pile was large and the room was once again clean. She heard the water shut off in the bathroom and quickly zipped up the bag and sat down on the floor to pull on her shoes. That was how Blake found her as he came out of the bathroom, sitting next to a packed bag, her hair falling around her face shielding her from his view. As much as he wanted to ask her about the night before, he knew well enough to keep from doing so. Slipping his own shoes back on he watched as she stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Are you ready to go?" She nodded and he held the door open for her and they made their way out into the new day. Just like when he had found her on the Erisons grounds, he gripped her shoulder with one hand and aparated them into the ministry of magic, letting go of her immediately. She had tensed the moment he touched her.

"Ah! Blake, Dvona, there the two of you are. Just in time, I have a meeting in ten minutes so we must get you on your way Dvona. Blake, I do believe one Mrs. Buzlin was looking for you earlier, you'd best go and find her."

"Yes sir." With one last smile at Dvona he made his way down the hallway, around the corner and out of sight.

"Why don't you come in and get everything settled, hmm?" Silently Dvona followed him into the room and took a seat at the desk in front of him.

"Now, I've sent of a letter to your father explaining everything, I am sure that they will be expecting you there. It will be about 4 in the afternoon, and the portkey is going to drop you off just outside the estate grounds. It's the closest I can set it to get you I'm afraid." At her look of concern ne immediately tried to reassure her. "Oh I'm sure they will have somebody there waiting for you, to show you where to go. Let's see, what else. Oh, I've transferred a substantial amount of your money into an account at Gringotts in London, on Diagon alley to be exact. I've also sent a letter to Albus Dumbledore, headmaster at Hogwarts, so you should expect to be hearing from him sometime in the near future." The man glanced up at the clock on the wall and his eyes widened as he jumped out of his chair.

"Now I'm running late. Here, take this." He pressed a marble into Dvona's hand as she stood up as well. "That portkey will activate as soon as you say the word 'Black', alright? Now, I really must be off, and so should you. You've a father to meet, you know." He gave her what she assumed was supposed to be an encouraging smile and she felt her stomach drop. So this was it. He stood watching her, clearly waiting for her to activate the portkey. It came as no surprise to her that he didn't want her alone in his office.

"Thank you for all your trouble Minister. Black." The portkey activated and pulled her away from the office before he could comment on the mocking tone she had used to answer him. The horrible rushing feeling she had always hated when using a portkey was more overwhelming than it ever had been before, and she assumed it was due to the distance she was traveling. After what seemed like a lifetime she saw the ground below her and released the marble from her hand. She would have landed gracefully if it weren't for the fact that the portkey had been tuned to a rather steep hill, and the fact that rain was coming down in sheets. So when she landed on her feet they went right out from under her and she slid down the hill for several feet before she stopped her slide. With a groan she pushed herself up and looked around, her hands vainly trying to keep the water off of her head.

She saw nothing. No welcome party she had been told to expect just minutes before. Her bag lay at the top of the hill so she made her way back up to it and once again slung it over her shoulder. Now she could see the manor itself, a ways away, behind a tall, heavy iron gate with spikes at the top. She could see a thin shimmer of magic about it as well, and she knew better than to try and climb over it. Not knowing what else to do she began to walk along side it, hoping to find some sort of gate. It didn't take very long for her to find just that, a huge and ornate gate kept shut with a heavy padlock and chain, with the name 'Black' woven into the iron pattern. Still, there was nobody around, and the rain had begun to fall more steadily, seeping into her clothes and chilling her immensely.

Pulling out her wand she tried a few spells on the gates, but nothing worked. After ten minutes of trying she was soaking, freezing, and completely fed up. Taking her chances she walked right up to the gate, grabbed it with her hands and rattled it as hard as she could. To her surprise, nothing happened. Maybe it was the Black blood? The chain was fairly loosely looped, so she began the slow process of rearranging it until she was able to force the gate open just wide enough for her to get though. Pushing the bag in ahead of her, she hoisted herself up so she was standing on the chains and wriggled her way through the gate.

"Finally." Now that she was on the right side of the fence she began walking toward the house, not bothering to be quick about it. She was already soaked through and muddy, and now she knew better than to expect any sort of a warm welcome. Apparently they didn't care that she was arriving.

The house itself was huge, rising five stories, with the main section being twice as large as each wing which lay to the sides of it. Even without the dreary weather, the place would seem incredibly gloomy. The brick walls had lost most of their color, something Dvona hadn't even known was possible. The grounds were completely overgrown, and even the path she was walking on was broken and uneven. If she didn't know better, she wouldn't think anybody lived there.

Upon reaching the door she pulled the rope that was connected to the bell, and was hardly surprised when the rotten rope broke in her hand without ringing the bell at all. So, she opted for knocking on the door. Loudly. And repeatedly.

"Hello?" Her yell was met with silence. "You've got to be kidding me…" she continued to mutter under her breath and she twisted the doorknob, sure it would be locked. To her immense surprise, it opened beneath her hands, revealing a sliver of warmth. She didn't stop to think twice, instead she just let herself in, welcoming the light and warmth of a great entryway. Pushing the door shut firmly behind her, she looked around and gasped in wonder. The entry hall had a vaulted ceiling, one which was decorated with intricate paintings. The floor looked like black marble, and a grand double staircase led to the other floors of the house. To the left was an immense ballroom, and to the right was a doorway leading to a lit hallway. Thinking that the hallway was her best option she made her way toward the door, peering in and checking for anyone before she entered it. She had begun shivering at this point, and she dropped her bag to the floor so that she could squeeze the excess water out of her hair, leaving a muddy puddle on the floor.

Shrugging her shoulders she continued down the length of the hall, seeing a bright light coming from an archway not far away. But when the sound of voices met her ears from the room, she froze and pressed herself up against the wall, straining to make out their words.

"-back from the city soon."

"Good—starving."

"-basta-" that was all she managed to catch before the sound of a scuffle broke out, then laughing. Making sure her wand was in easy reach she crept along the wall as quietly as she could, peeking around the edge. Inside she found three red headed men, one was sitting on the table, his feet on the chair in front of him, his back toward her. One was sitting across from him on the counter, and it looked as if the two of them had the same slightly long hair cut. The third man was to the side of both of them, leaning against the counter, his arms crossed in front of his chest. He looked older than the one sitting on the counter, his hair was cut short and he was far more tan than the other two appeared to be. They all had to be brothers, they looked so much alike.

"If they don't get here soon I'm eating anyways." That came from the one on the counter, and the older one quickly replied that they were likely to be back any minute.

"Yeah Fred, it was just a trip to Diagon Ally, there's only so much to do there, and they've been there all day already." This came from the one who's face she couldn't see, but his voice was identical to the one he addressed as Fred and she assumed they were twins. She wasn't sure who they were talking about, being gone, but she guessed it was her father, and maybe Harry Potter as she hadn't seen any sign of him.

"Fine, fine. I'll wait." Deciding to take her chances Dvona silently moved into sight, leaning against the doorway to help hide the fact that she was shivering uncontrollably. They continued to talk amongst themselves for a couple of minutes before Fred glanced towards the doorway, most likely hoping to catch sight of the others they were waiting for. Upon seeing her he had leapt to his feet and drawn his wand impossibly quickly, and there was a crash as the other two followed suite, the one who had been sitting on the table knocking over the chair as he did so.

"Who the bloody hell are you?!"

"And what the hell are you doing in here?!" She had been right, the two with the longer hair were twins, identical twins and they spoke as if they could read one another's thoughts. The older one didn't say anything, but looked at her with a great intensity, as if trying to gather all the information he could from her outward appearance.

"I'm looking for Sirius Black."

"How did you get in here without setting off the wards?" Now it was the older one who spoke.

"Through the gate, then the front door. I knocked. Nobody answered." She kept her tone cool and her words clipped, not sure how much she wanted to tell them.

"You should have set off the wards."

"But I didn't." The room fell silent then, the three of them still pointing their wands at her, and Dvona herself leaning on the wall partially for support and partially to appear calm and dethatched. She didn't draw her wand, if she did they were sure to attack her. A full minute passed, and the men in the room started to get antsy, glancing back and forth at each other, unsure of what to do. She hadn't threatened them, but it was obvious they didn't trust her. Just as the tension became unbearable they all started at the sound of a loud slam coming from further down the hall, and laughter reached their ears. Spinning to see who was coming the other three leapt into the hall in front of her, wands still raised.

"What's going on?" A matronly voice called down the hall, and the sound of running feet was heard. In a matter of seconds Dvona found herself at the tip of ten wands, and felt her stomach drop. It wasn't that she was afraid of what they were going to do to her, rather she feared the power she could feel stirring deep within in her, acting in response to the danger she was in.

"I'm looking for Sirius Black." Two men, of about the same age pushed their way to the front of the group. One of them had sandy brown hair and was looking at her as if trying to figure something out. The other she knew instantly was the man she was seeking. It was the hair that gave him away. The last picture she had seen of him he had looked mad, just after escaping from Azkaban. Now he looked neat and pulled together, and very suspicious.

"What do you want? Who are you?" His voice demanded answers, and he pointed his wand a bit closer to her.

"You didn't get the letter?" At the confused looks on their faces she knew that the American Minister hadn't sent the letter as early as he ought to have, in order for it to reach them before she did. Knowing the fumbling idiot, he had probably sent it off just minutes before she had even gotten to his office that morning.

"How did you get past the wards?" This time it was the brown haired man who spoke, and upon looking into his eyes she could see that he suspected the truth already.

"They didn't give me any problems. I just rearranged the chain on the gate and slid though. Then the front door was unlocked. It was pouring rain, I wasn't about to sit out in it for God knows how long."

"Well what made you think you had any right to come into this house to begin with?" now it was a different red head that spoke, one that had come in with the rest from Diagon Ally. He and the curly haired girl next to him looked to be just a bit younger than her, and next to them was Harry Potter. She didn't answer him, though, just continued to watch as the brown haired man put the pieces together.

"Sirius, only those with Black blood can get through the wards." He spoke softly to the man next to him, and a few confused glances were shared by the people behind them.

"What are you talking about Remus?"

"Just look at her. That face? She looks just like-"

"Don't. Don't even say it, it's not possible. I would have known."

"Would you have?" Now it was Dvona who spoke, keeping her eyes trained on Sirius's own. "When would she have had the chance to tell you?"

"As soon as she knew-"

"You'd already sent her away!" Dvona was slightly surprised by her loud outburst, and she watched as first disbelief, then shock spread through his eyes.

"How- when?"

"She found out after she was back in America. And by then it was too dangerous to send letters. Then you went to jail, then you escaped but were on the run, then you died. I just found out yesterday that you are even alive."

"Then you're-"

"Eighteen. I'll be nineteen in a month." Silence fell for a few moments, and as Sirius and Remus put away their wands the others followed suite.

"Sirius, what's going on?" The matronly voice again, this time Dvona saw that it was coming from a short woman with wild red hair. Assuming her to be the mother of the twins, the older and younger red headed boys, and the young redheaded girl who stood partly behind Potter she wondered briefly why a whole family seemed to be living here with Sirius and his godson.

"Maybe we should all go and sit down?" Remus was the one to suggest this, but nobody moved. Sirius was still staring at Dvona as if he had seen a ghost. It was getting more and more difficult to hide the fact that she was shivering desperately, but she certainly wasn't going let any of them see her weakness. She still wasn't sure what was going to happen.

"Really, what's going on?" The youngest red haired man spoke again, and the curly haired girl smacked his arm.

"Honestly Ron, be quiet."

"Why are you here now. After all this time." Sirius, it seemed, had finally found his voice.

"The American Ministry sent me. They were supposed to have told you about it before I got here."

"But why?"

"To finish my schooling. My last year was- interrupted. They told me I was to attend Hogwarts now."

Potter, greatly confused by what was going on pushed his way up next to Sirius and glared at Dvona.

"Who are you?" She waited a few seconds, to see if Sirius was going to say anything to him. When she saw that he wasn't going to she sighed and turned to Potter.

"Dvona Black."


	6. Chapter 6

Many many eyes were staring back at her, widened in various looks of disbelief. Potter was the first one to speak again.

"Like, some distant cousin that has just come out of the woodwork, right?" He turned to Sirius now, his eyes desperate. "Right Sirius? She's just some distant relative right?" Dvona was surprised at how much it hurt when Sirius didn't say anything at all. Just continued to stand there, refusing to verify that she was much more than a distant cousin. It was the man identified as Remus who spoke.

"She's his daughter." Again. The silence. It was getting more and more difficult for her to remain standing, and she wouldn't have been surprised if her lips were beginning to turn blue. She continued to try and suppress her shivering, however. She didn't want them all to see how weak she was. But even as the thought passed through her mind the headache she thought she had escaped came back with a vengeance, and her stomach rolled. Suddenly she regretted all that fire whisky the night before more than anything else.

The twins, recognizing the tell tale signs of a hangover, glanced at each other for a moment. Seeing that nothing was going to be accomplished in the hallway like this, they both moved forward, surrounding her with one on each side.

"Since you all seem to be having a problem picking your jaws back up off the floor-"

"We'll be taking the freezing girl upstairs for a hot shower before she catches hypothermia." Dvona was surprised at how warm they were on each side of her, and she couldn't help but relax a bit, not even noticing that her hands had begun to shake when she stopped keeping so much tension in them.

"Yes, that would probably be a good idea. We'll get everything sorted at dinner." That was Remus again, and Dvona was beginning to see that he was the voice of reason in the group.

"Dinner! Yes, yes I'll get right to making dinner. Ginny, help me will you?" It was the older woman again, and the young red headed girl followed her into the kitchen obediently. The twins didn't wait for anybody else to say anything, they simply each wrapped an arm around her and turned her around, leading her back down the hall. Nearly as soon as her back was turned she heard a swell of whispered questions flying about, but the twins didn't let her turn back around to see who was questioning her existence.

"Just ignore them."

"They're in shock."

"Everyone will come around."

"You'll see." She felt dizzy, hearing the same voice coming so quickly from both sides of her, and she didn't bother to try and reply. She just let them lead her down the hall and upstairs. At one point the one on her right had stooped and caught her bag with one hand, but the warmth was against her side again almost immediately. As the adrenaline of the whole confrontation began to wear off her whole body started to shake.

"Are you ok?" They both asked this one at the same time, and her head spun once again, causing her stomach to lurch.

"C-c-cold." Her teeth had begun chattering and she leaned more heavily against the twin on her left. "Hung-over." One of them made a sympathetic sound, and suddenly the one on her left hooked one arm under her legs and lifted her up.

"Don't argue with us." She had only started to open her mouth before they stopped her protests.

"We live on the fourth floor-"

"And that's just far too many stairs-"

"When you're hung over."

"Believe us." That last bit was spoken by them both, and she couldn't help but smile. So her father seemed to hope she was just a hallucination, but at least these two didn't seem horrified by her existence.

"I'm Fred, by the way." That was the one carrying her bag.

"And I'm George." The one who was carrying her. Looking up at him, and then over at his twin, she saw no way to tell them apart. Even their freckles seemed to match perfectly.

"So how do I tell you two apart?"

"I'm three minutes older." That was George, and she nearly laughed at his reply.

"Thanks for the tip." At that they both broke out in wide, identical grins.

"Best we can do."

"Nobody can tell us apart for sure."

"Not even mum."

"It's great fun."

"If nobody can tell you apart, how do you know you are who you are? I mean, for all you know, when you were two or something, your mom got the two of you mixed up. George, you could really be Fred, and Fred, you could really be George." The twins came to a dead stop at that, staring first at her and then at each other with wide eyes.

"My God."

"She's right!"

"What if you're the one who hates carrots, not me?"

"And you could be the one who had a broken arm when we were seven!" Shaking her head Dvona muttered under her breath, just loud enough for George to hear her, causing him to burst out laughing.

"Hey now, what's this? What did she say?" George couldn't seem to find his voice, so Dvona took it upon herself to answer.

"I just said that I hadn't meant to cause an existential crisis for the two of you." Breaking into a smile Fred shook his head, trying not to laugh.

"You can't be too hung over if you can use words like 'existential' you know."

"Yes, I think I'd better put you down. You should have no problem managing the next two staircases." But Dvona was having none of that. She had finally stopped shivering being wrapped in George's arms, and she tightened her arms around his neck and buried her head in his shoulder.

"Nope, I'll pass out for sure." It was a slow trip the rest of the way up the stairs, as every few steps one of the twins would stop and argue about which one of them had made Ron's hair turn purple for a week, or which one of them could successfully bake a loaf of bread. By the time they reached their room they were utterly convinced that they were, in fact, the wrong one. At least, that was how they put it. Trying to follow their conversation was just confusing Dvona to no end and she regretted saying anything about it, funny as it was.

"Here we are." George set her down gently, keeping one arm around her shoulders to steady her. Almost immediately she began to shiver again and he pulled her a bit closer. Fred opened the door and led them into a warmly lit sitting room with a plush couch and a couple of equally comfortable looking chairs. A large table sat along one wall completely covered with curious looking objects. Seeing her gazing at their creations, the boys both began speaking animatedly.

"We're opening a joke shop-"

"That lot there are just the things we've though up recently-"

"The rest of our inventory is in the next room-"

"Boxed up and ready to go."

"But we'll tell you all about that later."

"The bathroom is the middle door there-"

"Towels will be in the closet in there."

"Have a nice hot shower, you'll feel better."

"And I'll have George here make you his famous hangover remedy."

"Works wonders every time." They both stood there, smiling their wide, trusting smiles and she couldn't help but smile back.

"Thank you guys. If not for you I would still probably be standing down there with everyone just… looking at me." Fred, who was still holding her bag held it out to her, and she took it gratefully.

"Think nothing of it. The lot of them can be a bit dense sometimes." George's eyes sparkled as he said that, and with one last grateful look she turned and entered the bathroom, not bothering to lock the door behind her, she trusted them.

As quickly as she could she stripped out of her wet and muddy clothes, kicking them into a pile in the corner. After a bit of fiddling she got the water turned on, and after just a few moments steam began to fill the room. Stepping into the glass shower she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out at the hot water. She refused to turn the temperature down, however, and forced herself to bear it until it was no longer scalding.

It only took a few moments to wash the mud off of her arms, but she wasn't ready to get out of the shower just yet. Not only was the water heaven upon her chilled frame, as long as she stayed in this room she wouldn't have to go downstairs and face everybody. It wasn't that she had expected an incredibly warm welcome, but she had expected something at least. Somebody waiting to let her in. Though, really, that could be excused since it was the American Minister's fault they hadn't received the letter warning them about her. But even so, her father had seemed to hope it was all just a bad dream. 'Well, if he doesn't want me here that's fine.' She could easily rent a flat somewhere in London. Or, really, anywhere she wanted. Money was no problem now. She was of age, they couldn't force her to go to Hogwarts or take the tests for her diploma. It would just be a whole lot more convenient to stay here. God knows Voldemort was sure to show up with Potter around. And as much as she despised it, a small part of her wanted her father's approval. She had never been able to make her mother happy. Never been able to do anything right for her. Part of her couldn't help but hope that it might be different with her father.

As the hot water began to cool she was pulled roughly from her thoughts, and she quickly turned it off and climbed out of the stall. A couple of quick drying and cleaning spells and her clothes were once again dry and wearable. The last thing she wanted to do was try to search for something to wear in the mess of the bag sitting on the floor. However, the t-shirt she had chosen that moment left her shivering, and she did indeed have to open the bag. She knew what she wanted was right on top, however, and sure enough the faded blue sweatshirt was the first thing she saw. Pulling it out she immediately put it on, fingers tracing the familiar 'Erisons' on the front. She knew it was going to invite questions, but she didn't care. She needed its familiarity right now.

Zipping up her bag once more she pushed the door open and glanced around the room, finding George sitting on the couch. She knew it was him, as he had been wearing a black shirt whereas Fred had been wearing green. A quick glance around the room showed the other twin was nowhere to be found.

"He went downstairs to see how long it will be until dinner is ready." As if he had read her thoughts George answered her question before she even got the chance to ask it. "It probably won't be very long."

"Ah." It was all she could bring herself to say as she settled herself on the couch next to him.

"How's your head?" She smiled ruefully and crossed her arms in front of her stomach.

"It's been better, to say the least."

"Here." Reaching behind him he grabbed a potion vial off of the table and held it out to her. "My amazing hang-over cure. It tastes terrible, but it's well worth it." She didn't pause to smell the concoction, just tipped it down her throat as quickly as she could, but she couldn't hold back a grimace. He was right, the stuff was terrible, but even as she thought that she felt her stomach settle and her head stop throbbing.

"Wow, I'm impressed. That stuff is amazing."

"Told ya." They were silent for a moment before George spoke up again.

"They're going to give you the third degree you know."

"Yup." They sat in a comfortable silence for a minute or two before George started in again.

"Ginny probably won't say much of anything. She's pretty shy." Seeing her look of confusion he explained that Ginny was his little sister, the red headed girl. "Charlie won't pester you, but he'll probably want to know a few things. That's the one who was in the kitchen with us. He's my second oldest brother. Ron though doesn't know when to keep his big mouth shut. And if Harry or Hermione are upset at all he just acts like even more of an idiot. The three of them have been best mates since their first year at Hogwarts. If even one of them doesn't like you or doesn't trust you, they're all going to feel the same way. And most likely Ginny will follow along with them. Her and Harry have been dating for a bit now."

"And Ron and Hermione, are they together? There seemed to be something there…" Fred burst out laughing at that and Dvona wondered if she had stumbled into something.

"The two of them have been dancing around each other for years. Everybody but them can see it, but they are both just too stubborn to even look. I mean, the fact that you only met them for a few minutes and even so you noticed it just proves my point all the more."

"And what point is that, exactly?"

"That they are idiots." Dvona couldn't help but laugh along with him at that.

"So who else do I have to worry about?"

"Well, you never know with our mum. If you're on her good side then you'll be fine. But if not, she can be rather…"

"Irrational." Fred had just come back into the room and once again finished George's sentence.

"Yes! That's the word I was looking for! Well then, that just leaves Remus and Sirius. Remus you won't have to worry about, he always seems to know just the right thing to say to smooth over any situation."

"And Sirius?" They both looked a little surprised that she didn't call him dad, but she couldn't. He had been Sirius to her for her entire life. Such habits die hard.

"The man is completely unpredictable."

"Yeah, we've no idea how he'll be."

"Either way, they sent me back up here to tell you dinner is ready." They both fell silent, looking at Dvona with concern. Forcing a smile she leapt up, catching George's hand and pulling him up as well.

"Let's go then, I'm starving."

A/N: I was going to include the dinner in this chapter, but I wanted to get something posted. If all goes as planned, though, then the next chapter should be up tonight as well. Also, thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed! They make me want to write constantly!


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